An expert panel of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) pushed back on recommending conditional approval for a second time for Shionogi & Co. Ltd.’s orally administered COVID-19 antiviral 3CL protease inhibitor, S-217622, also known as ensitrelvir.
Although Pfizer Inc. has the only drugs approved in the U.S. to treat a rare, progressive heart disease, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit agreed this week with the Department of Health and Human Services, and a lower court, that Pfizer’s proposed copay assistance program for middle-income Americans covered by Medicare would violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute – even if the company has no “corrupt” intent.
The U.S. FDA has approved fewer drugs and biologics in the first half of 2022 than in each of the five prior years and only one new molecular entity has received clearance since the end of May. While the volume of regulatory news is slightly down from last year, FDA approvals are showing a much deeper decline of 19.8%.
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Astrazeneca, B.More, Bridgebio, Hookipa, Lepu, Matinas, Medexus, Qbiotics, Veru.
The U.S. Department of Justice has been intensely focused on illicit billings to federal government agencies, so much so that the agency reclaimed more than $500 million in the first half of calendar year 2022 under the False Claims Act. However, 80% of that amount came from companies in the life sciences, a fact which combines with pending federal and state legislation to amplify the risk for these companies in the coming years, according to a new report by the law firm of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, LLP.
Turkey needs to provide a level playing field for foreign and domestic drug producers. That’s the recommendation of three World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrators in a dispute resolution between Turkey and the EU.
Insider trading appears to be the U.S. SEC violation du jour. The agency filed insider trading charges against 10 individuals July 25, including a former FBI trainee and his friend who made about $82,000 and $1.3 million, respectively, from illegally trading ahead of the February 2021 announcement of Merck & Co. Inc.’s $1.85 billion tender offer to acquire Pandion Therapeutics Inc.
It was bound to happen someday. With more and more prescription drugs coming to the U.S. market, the FDA is running out of unique combinations for the 10-digit national drug code given to each product.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Amvuttra (vutrisiran), a treatment for the rare disease hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, was among medicines recommended for approval by regulators from Europe’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in a busy sitting.